Christian Siriano pulls two gowns from collection over plagiarism accusations

Christian Siriano has withdrawn two gowns he debuted at his fall/winter 2019 New York Fashion Week show after he was called out for plagiarism by fashion watchdogs Diet Prada.On Monday (11Feb19) Diet Prada, an Instagram account run by Tony Liu and Lind…

Christian Siriano has withdrawn two gowns he debuted at his fall/winter 2019 New York Fashion Week show after he was called out for plagiarism by fashion watchdogs Diet Prada.

On Monday (11Feb19) Diet Prada, an Instagram account run by Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler which famously highlights design rip-offs, posted a series of images showing side-by-side comparisons of gowns from Siriano’s show, which he presented on Saturday, to gowns from Maison Valentino’s spring 2018 couture show.

“@csiriano deserves credit for being so inclusive as a brand. This pink @maisonvalentino Spring 2018 couture gown maybe shouldn’t have been included in his FW19 collection though. Dieters (followers), thoughts on the purple pillowcase number as well? We just hope he’s not passing on these tips in his new gig as mentor on Project Runway lol (laugh out loud),” they wrote in the caption.

Diet Prada called out two looks from Siriano’s collection which looked uncannily similar to those designed by Valentino – a strapless, billowing blue gown and a shorter purple dress trimmed with oversized ruffles.

However, the popular designer responded quickly to the accusation, and commented under the post: “Yea wow last time I have this designer in my studio make a dress. Agree, it’s pulled.”

“I don’t look at collections, so I had no idea what they were even referencing, but yes I agree it looks very similar,” he continued in a comment to WWD. “I wish I could control and make every single dress myself that we put out there, but it’s not physically possible.”

Siriano is famous for his inclusivity and diversity in his casting, and for always being open to dressing women of all sizes on the red carpet. His fall 2019 show was closed by plus-size model Ashley Graham.

The designer is also set to serve as a mentor in the Bravo reboot of Project Runway, the show which gave him his start in the fashion industry after he won the fourth season.